Malagan masks such as this were unique because they included…

Mаlаgаn masks such as this were unique because they included materials such as tоrtоise shell.© Otagо Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand, D45.179 The colors of this mask describe an abstracted, human face with a gaping mouth full of sharply-pointed teeth. The dominant colors on the face are oranges, browns, and white, with some black accents in the eyes and on the long ear lobes.swirling patterns create the impression of the profile of a nose with a prominent black nostril. There is space cut out for the eyes, with a round, painted object for an eyeball fixed in the center of the opening. On the top of the head is a crest, almost rooster-like, forming a crescent-shaped headdress that is several times larger than the lower portion of the head. The center of the crest is solid, with orange fibers extending along the top of the crest.